Terra's Past
by SaberlordOboeshoes
Summary: Finally adapted to a normal life, Terra learns the truth about where she came from. (Oh, and Jason Todd is Red X in this.)


TERRA BELOW

It was a quiet afternoon in the Sandsmark residence. Jas had just returned from work and was setting the table for supper. His wife Tara was in the bedroom, working on the notes for her geology final. Their first year of marriage had gone better than either had expected.

Jason went to answer a knock at the front door. He opened it to find a young, black woman dressed in casual clothes.

"Hello. You must be Jason Todd."

"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong address."

"Oh wait, that's right, you and your wife had your names changed to Sandsmark."

Jason then quickly slammed the door shut and locked it. He began heading back to the kitchen when he heard the mail slot open and close. He looked back at the door and saw nothing, but he did hear a faint buzzing sound. He followed this sound until the black woman appeared in the living room, seemingly growing out of nothing.

"Look, Jason, you don't need to worry. I'm Karen..."

Before Karen could finish, she dodged attacks from plotted plants from behind her. The dirt slithered out and around her body before petrifying, freeing her in place. Tara Sandsmark then came walking down the hall, her eyes and hands glowing yellow. She stopped when she got next to her husband, making sure that Karen's mouth had been properly gagged with mud.

"Oh dear."

"What, Tara? Do you know her."

"Yeah, this is Bumblebee."

"Wait, from the Titans East.?"

"Yes, or at least she was, until she married Aqualad last month."

Both of them gave an embarrassed gawk at Karen, who replied with a store that was pissed but also understanding.

"Sorry, your Highness."

Tara released the young Princess and offered her dinner as a way to express her apologies. Karen accepted, explaining that that she didn't blame two former criminals for being on their toes when faced with an uninvited guest.

"Well, thank you for the lovely meal, but the real reason I'm here is to ask you something, Terra."

"Ask me what?"

"Do you know where you come from?"

"Well, I remember being a child back in a town on the outskirts of Gateway City..."

"I'm sorry," interrupted Jason, "but why is this any of your business."

"Because I think I have the answer."

/

Karen led the Sandsmark couple outside to her vehicle. Once they were buckled up, she commanded it to shrink and convert into a mini-submersible. She drove into a storm drain and found her way into the ocean, where she grew her vehicle back to regular size and towards the capitol of Atlantis.

They were greeted by Aqualad, even though he preferred to go by Prince Garth as the royal responsibilities of adulthood had left little time for superheroics.

"Karen and I were celebrating our honeymoon by exploring the history museums, when we came to a room full of relics from an ancient civilization. Well, the art and architecture make it look ancient, but it was really destroyed less than 20 years ago."

Garth led the group into this wing of the history museum. Sure enough, all the relics did have an ancient design, yet also seemed to be very well-polished. There was also a recurring theme: human-like beings having mastery over rocks and dirt.

"Much like how Atlanteans dwelt beneath the seas," explained Garth, "the Stratans dwelt beneath the Earth."

"And you think I'm one of them?" asked Terra.

"Well, you have rock powers, they had rock powers, it seems pretty obvious."

"But there's only way to be sure," explained Karen as she opened up a mini-computer on her forearm. "We just need to take your DNA, Terra, and compare it with that we found on Stratan skeletons."

"So, that's it, then? Do you need me to prick my thumb or something?"

"No, just a cheek swab will do."

/

"Well, it's confirmed; you're a Stratan."

"Terra, are you OK?"

"Yes, Jason, I'm fine. I just … I just don't know how to feel about all of this."

"Well, know that we know," continued Garth, "would you like to learn about your heritage?"

"Sure, I guess."

Garth led the group on a tour of the Stratan relics, explaining the story they told about the history of Terra's race.

"Do you recall who the King of the Gods of Ancient Greece was?"

"Yeah, Zeus."

"And his brothers?"

"Let's see – there was Poseidon, god of the sea, and Hades, god of the underworld."

"Much like how humans were created by Zeus and the Atlanteans were created by Poseidon, the Stratans were created by Hades. They lived in cavernous societies underground, constantly digging with their powers through the Earth's crust to expand their territory. During their digging, they uncovered precious metals that they traded with humans and Atlanteans in exchange for food and wood.

"But as the centuries went by, the Stratans were continuously blamed for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Of course, they weren't really responsible for these, and actually tried to prevent them or at the very least warn about them."

"So, why didn't they just stop all of them?" asked Jason.

"Because then tectonic plates would build up their stress until they would have destroyed everything," answered Karen. "Didn't you pay attention in fourth grade?"

Garth continued. "Well, the Atlanteans faced similar accusations with regards to sea monsters and ocean storms. Tensions arouse between all three species, and rather than risk war, theydecided to isolate themselves from one another.

"Fast forward to 20-25 years ago. Pollution of the oceans by humans was becoming a problem, so my parents, King Orin and Queen Mera, unveiled the existence of Atlantis to the world. He reopened trade with human nations, keeping the oceans clean in the process. But there was one man who didn't quite like this.

"Ocean Master, my father's younger brother. He believed that Atlantis should have stayed isolated, and started a civil war. He approached the Stratans and promised them great riches if they joined him. With it getting harder to grow food underground, the Stratans accepted his offer but in exchange for food.

"So, Ocean Master's war began, and the Stratans attacked and destroyed dozens of Atlantean cities, including Mera's hometown. My father responded by launching counterassaults where our battle mages cursed the Stratans with madness, forcing them to turn on each other. They forcibly destroyed their own civilization overnight."

"Wait, so then, how am I here?"

"Aren't you a little angry that my father destroyed your people?"

"Well, I guess I should be, but I never knew any of this, so it's not like I feel anything personally."

"I see. Well, about that town you grew up in..."

Karen projected a hologram from her mini-computer.

"I had Oracle look into it. She sent me all the files from there about you. All stuff they had never released to press on the outside."

"Oh..." responded Terra worryingly.

"It seems that your birth mother was found covered in mud and scars on the side of the road, yelling hysterically from labor pains. She was taken to the hospital, where she died giving birth to you."

"I know," answered Terra. "My adoptive parents told me."

"We don't really know how she got up there, but there was a Stratan city-cave right below Gateway City. Our guess is that she escaped the chaos during the war and somehow got above the surface."

"And I take it you know the rest of my story." Terra closed her eyes as Jason placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "It was in the middle of school when my powers first activated. A few minutes later, the school was rubble. I ran away before I could hurt anyone else."

"It's not your fault," said Karen. "You had no idea; nobody had any idea. You had to learn how to control your powers on your own."

"But I didn't. I had help from … you know who."

"Yes, and then you defeated him," reminded Jason.

"And weren't you turned into a statue?" asked Karen.

"Yeah, and then I just came back to life … still no idea how. After seeing my memorial plaque, I went to Mr. Holt to ask for him in getting a new, normal life. He got me into Murakami High School and Jump City State College, and I'm pretty sure he set Jason and I up."

"And I'm grateful for it," said Jason.

"Well," resumed Garth, "that takes us to the end of our tour, so there's only one thing left."

Garth opened up a nearby chest and took from it a massive bag of gold that he presented to the Sandsmarks.

"What is this?" asked Jason.

"Reparations," answered Garth.

"Well, I appreciate the gesture," responded Terra, "but even if I felt any ill feeling towards you, no amount of money could make it go away. What I learned from the Titans is that forgiveness starts in the heart.

"When I got settled in high school, I decided to finally look up what had happened to the town I had left. Turns out, the parents of all my victims targeted their anger at my adoptive parents, ultimately driving them to suicide. When I read that, I nearly lost control again.

"But Superman came to the town, and gave the people a much-needed berating. Yes, they had every reason to be afraid of me, and to be angry at what I had done. But as with most tragedies, they turned their fear and anger into hate, and directed it at people who had nothing to do with it. He then made a public online video directed at me, saying that he knew exactly what is was like to suddenly find yourself with strange powers that you can't control, having no idea who you are or what you're supposed to do. He asked me to reach out to him, promising that he would find a way to help me.

"But by then, Slade had already helped me with my powers, and the Titans had taught me the meanings of friendship and forgiveness. With Superman gone, I reached out to Supergirl, and she arranged for me to go back to that town. Honestly, I was expecting them to open fire on me, no matter how sincere my apologies were. But as it turns out, provoking my parents to suicide had never left their consciences. At the end of the day, we all forgave each other.

"So back to your reparations – I forgive what your people did to mine, and I don't to accept any amount of money to make that clear."

"Well, what if instead, we accepted it as a gift?" asked Jason. "I mean, It'd be awful nice to not worry about bills once the baby comes."

"Wait, you're pregnant?" asked a started Garth.

"Yup," admitted Terra. "Six weeks tomorrow."

Karen embraced Terra in a joyous hug and lifted her up into the air. "Congratulations! I just turned eight weeks pregnant myself!"

"Really? Have you thought of a name yet?"

"We were thinking That for a boy and Tula for a girl. How about you?"

"Joseph for a boy, and if a girl … I think we're going with Cassandra."


End file.
